


my new planet to orbit

by ffantastic



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Black Paladin Lance (Voltron), First Kiss, Getting Together, M/M, Other characters mentioned - Freeform, conveniently scenic space windows, how many clichés can i fit into one fic challenge, lance likes crafting
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-10-03
Updated: 2018-10-03
Packaged: 2019-07-06 14:16:01
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,443
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15887706
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ffantastic/pseuds/ffantastic
Summary: There's hope that after this battle, they can finally go home, and Lance has a gift for Keith.





	my new planet to orbit

**Author's Note:**

> Title from "The Sights" by Enter Shikari.
> 
> this definitely disregards s6 and s7 lmao

A few hours before an important battle, maybe the last big one they would ever have to fight, Keith almost crashed into Lance. He was in armor, mind set on the fight and on strategies and the exhaustive training they’d gone through. And a little on what would be after- but those were just streaks of color in a steel gray picture. Streaks of blue, and thoughts of taking Lance’s hand when it rested too close to his on the table and looking into his eyes for as long as he wanted to.

The Lance in front of him had drawn his jacket tight across his chest on top of his armor, his eyes wide in the flickering emergency lights. He wasn’t smiling.

“Aren’t you going in the wrong direction?”

Lance blinked at Keith. 

“Wrong direction?”

“You still remember the pep talk you wanted to give? ‘Black paladin tradition’ or something like that?”

Keith’s brow furrowed at the slowly dawning comprehension on Lance's face. Lance had a lot on his mind these days, but it wasn't enough to forget about something he’d been so enthusiastic about.

“Ohh. The pep talk - right.”

Lance attempted a smile, but it was lopsided, not genuine, and his eyebrows twitched inwards. He was - nervous. 

“I’m, uh, sure you’ll do - alright.”

“Oh no, it’ll be awesome, that’s not what - that’s not - yeah.”

Lance pushed his hand back through his hair and laughed, too loud in the empty hallway. Keith was at a loss now that Lance had proven his only explanation wrong – he hadn’t even thought of the talk anymore. There had to be something else bothering him, and his lips moved, gearing up to form words. His eyes shifted from side to side, sometimes meeting Keith’s, sometimes not quite. 

"I have something for you."

He rummaged around in his pockets. Lance's hands shook as he procured a thin, multi-colored band and gestured for Keith to hold out his left hand.

"It's a friendship bracelet, but also, kinda, a talisman? For luck?"

Lance tied the band around his wrist, under the bulky part of his armor. Its threads were the colors of Voltron, woven together to form an abstract, delicate pattern.

"Did you make it?"

Lance finished tying the knots but didn’t move his hands away.

"Oh. Yeah – and – there's one more thing – "

His hands shook again, as he attempted something with the bracelet. Keith looked at him, bemused. Lance was biting his lip, cheeks flushed, half in concentration, half in something else.

"Here-" Lance flipped the bracelet over and took a quick step backwards. "That’s – I did that."

On the other side, the threads were only two colors, red and blue, and woven together like this, the pattern wasn’t abstract anymore. From his wrist, tiny hearts in red and blue stared at Keith.

He snapped his head up. Blood rushed to Keith's cheeks, but his face must have been frozen in a frightful expression, because Lance's eyes were wide, cautious. And if he couldn’t read what Keith was feeling, it was because Keith didn’t know himself. Lance raised his hands, palms outward, unblinking eyes fixed on Keith.

"Um, you can turn it around again if you want to, it's-"

Lance's hood was exactly at the right height for Keith to grab and pull, and he crossed the distance before Lance could lower his hands and pushed their lips together with a little too much force. Their noses collided, and Lance let out a low _ouch_ , but didn’t pull away. He pressed back, lips warm and eager.

The kiss was too quick, uncomfortable, and Keith had no idea what he was doing. He should have waited, should have done this long ago, should have kissed Lance when neither of them was in armor so he could have touched more of his soft, warm skin and felt his heartbeat pressed against his own. But Lance smiled against his lips and threaded his fingers through Keith’s hair, and maybe it was enough anyway. Enough to make the blood rush through his veins and twist his fingers more in Lance’s hood, to pull him closer.

They drew apart, and Keith's arms sank to his sides, useless. He stared as Lance, wide-eyed and flushed, touched a finger to his own lips. Something in Keith wanted to mirror the gesture, but he was restless, and starving, for something more than romantic affection, a kiss. They didn’t have time here - now. He met Lance's eyes, soft from his smile, and smiled back.

Lance rushed forward, enveloped him in a hug, and pressed a kiss against his hair. He had drawn back before Keith could lift his arms around him in return, but he grinned, all traces of agitation gone, walking backwards with an easy slope to his shoulders.

“We’ll talk later. After our glorious win.”

“Sure.”

“Race you to the control room?”

Lance took off before Keith had answered, but he wasn’t far behind.

Keith had no doubts about their glorious win, but something coiled in his gut whenever Lance cried out, no matter if it was an order or a cry of pain, whispering to him that sometimes actions weren’t enough. It stung more than any injury and left him breathing heavy, and when he stumbled out into his hangar, he was numb. Their victory was little more than a footnote in his exhaustion, and the blood and scratches on his armor blurred before his eyes.

Lance was exhausted, too, it bled through in his stance, and in how he winced when he strained his injured leg. His hair stuck to his forehead with sweat, but he still smiled and hugged everyone, let Hunk lift him and Pidge and swing them around, and mouthed a _later_ at Keith with a wink.

He stayed behind on official leader business with Shiro and Allura and some of the other alliance members, and Keith took the longest shower he'd had in a long time. The warm water soothed his aching muscles, and Lance handling things soothed the restless, coiling something within him. He was still unsure about many things, but he would deal with them as they came, as he always had. 

He hadn’t agreed on a place to meet with Lance, but it was inevitable that they'd end up next to each other. Just another unexplained constant of the universe. Keith's steps led him to a secluded niche with a window opening into space. He'd been here before, but this night, the stars were brighter, plentiful and strewn across the sky in patterns he almost recognized. He sat in front of the window and crossed his arms over his knees and before long, footsteps sounded out of the dark behind him, and Lance sat next to him.

He was in casual clothes again, fresh and glowing from his shower, smile threatening to break into a grin. Keith smiled back.

"Good news?"

"Yeah!" Lance clapped his hands on his knees and laughed in pure glee. "We're finally going back to Earth!"

"Oh. Like, immediately?"

Lance was smiling, flushed from joy and picking at the seams on his jeans with overflowing energy, and that was more reason for Keith to smile than anything about going back to Earth. Everything he missed about Earth came with an unpleasant sort of nostalgia. He'd been an outsider on Earth, out of place and out of his depth, and there was no place and no dish that could make him forget about it. And he had never had there what he had in space – a family, in all variations of the word.

"No, no, it'll take us a month there because we're making smaller jumps and visiting some planets on the way through. But we'll stay at least two weeks! Maybe even a month."

"That's great."

Lance's smile wavered.

"You… don't sound that enthusiastic."

Keith took a deep breath and clenched his fists. He was terrible at translating his thoughts and feelings into words and gestures that others understood, and Lance was an exception to the rule only sometimes.

"I'm glad for you, I know it means so much to you but – there's still so much left to do, and I will never feel good sitting around while I could be… doing something. Helping. There is nothing for me on Earth, Lance."

"Nothing?! There's – there's us! Me!"

Lance's eyebrows had furrowed, smile gone. Keith pulled his arms tight across his chest and fixed his gaze on the black between the stars out in the expanse of space.

"Yeah. That's nice, but I have you up here as well."

Lance gripped Keith's hands and pulled them towards himself. They were soft and warm as always, and Keith's breath hitched each time Lance's restless thumb stroked across his skin instead of just his gloves. And yet, his hands were also shaky. Keith turned around to him, perplexed at the gesture, but also at the shakiness. Lance met his gaze, unblinking, as if forcing himself not to look away. His Adam's apple bobbed on a swallow, and he blew out a breath that ruffled Keith's bangs. Apprehension built in Keith, knotting his stomach.

"Keith. I want to take you home. To my family."

Lance kept staring, lips pursed. Keith blinked.

"Oh. Uh… thanks."

Lance let his hands go to wring his own.

"Is that okay?"

"If they'll have me."

A grin spread on Keith's face as it really enveloped him - _Lance’s family_. He hadn’t bothered to hope for a real place to stay, and meeting Lance's family, the people he loved enough that thinking of them still brought him to tears after over a year in space, was more than a place to stay. It was a memory he couldn’t wait to make.

"Of course they will! They'll love you!"

Lance grinned and threw his arms around Keith. He laughed, gentle this time but no less happy, right against Keith's ear, so that it was more a feeling than a sound. Keith wound his arms around him in return and smothered his own laugh into Lance's warm shoulder. His knee pressed awkwardly into Lance's and his hair tickled Keith's ear, but he kept smiling. This was what he’d missed earlier, the real warmth of a hug.

When he sat back, his cheeks hurt, and his eyes stung, but Lance was the same with mussed-up hair and shining eyes, and maybe it wasn’t just the warmth of a hug Keith had missed. Their kiss was hours away, but Keith still felt Lance's smile against his, just by the curve of his lips. His breath came shorter.

"Was that all you wanted to talk about?"

"No."

They met in the middle. Lance wound his arms around him again and Keith pulled him closer by his shirt and closed his eyes. This time, their lips fit perfectly on the first try, no fumbling. Lance smelt like shower gel and toothpaste, the ones they all used, but on Lance, it was a different smell, comforting and exhilarating at the same time. His jacket rustled as Keith sunk his hand into Lance's soft, soft hair, but he barely heard it over his blood rushing and his heartbeat, and somehow, Lance's heartbeat as well, pressed into his chest. 

They parted, but Lance stayed close enough for his breath to mingle with Keith's. His eyes blinked open slowly, and they were wide and shining, joyful, and his fingertips remained against Keith's when their hands separated. Keith swallowed, and sound returned to him, electronic beeping from far away and the hum of air vents. He flexed his fingers and winced as pins and needles crawled up his leg.

"So, I think it's pretty clear that you like me."

Lance's voice was coarse, and it made Keith smile.

"I obviously hate you."

Fondness dripped from every word. He didn’t try to hide it, he wanted Lance to hear.

"Haha, yeah, I hate you too."

Lance averted his eyes, and Keith waited for him to reveal something else, introduce another topic, or maybe suggest they go to sleep. He didn’t. He sat, staring out at the stars, pulsing blue light reflecting on his eyes and the downturned corners of his mouth. Keith drummed his hands on his legs. He didn’t want to interrupt Lance's introspection, but restless energy still thrummed through his veins, heart beating fast from their hug and their kiss and their closeness, and something unfinished hung between them.

He surged forward to turn Lance around at the shoulder and – probably kiss him again, he didn’t think that far – but Lance stopped him with a hand to the chest, wide-eyed as if he had forgotten about Keith. 

"I wasn’t finished! So…"

Lance trailed off again, his eyes unfocused, shifting around. Keith sighed sharply.

"So?"

Lance's eyes snapped to him, and they were wide and a little frightened, even as his brows furrowed in determination. His mouth opened and closed in a first attempt to divulge something difficult.

"Do you want to be my boyfriend?"

"Yes."

Lance grinned, and Keith grinned back. He had spoken before the words had properly taken root inside of him, like a reflex instead of a conscious reaction. But the yes was right, natural, the conclusion to all his restlessness, even if one he would have never thought up by himself. Lance laughed, the same gentle, happy laugh. Keith's hands were numb, tingly with eagerness to hold onto something, preferably Lance. He was still holding him back with one hand.

"Is there still something you want to _talk_ about?"

The insistence in Keith's voice did nothing but make Lance's grin sharper. He tapped two fingers of his free hand against his chin and turned his eyes upward.

"Hm… no."

Lance lifted his hand from Keith's chest. Pressure gone, he surged forward, half because he hadn’t adjusted his stance in time, and half because he wanted to be as close to Lance as possible. The back of Lance's head collided with the floor, and his eyes were wide in shock as Keith leaned in and kissed him.

The kiss wasn’t as perfect, mostly because Lance kept patting his own head and muttering that he'd bruise, or get a concussion, or worse, right into the minimal space between their lips. But he was still warm, soft, his arm a solid weight against Keith's back. And when they parted ways later to go to their own rooms, Lance's fingers lingered between his, and he tucked on a _boyfriend_ after his _goodnight_.

Back in his room, Keith looked up how to make a friendship bracelet. His might not turn out as beautiful as Lance’s had - but it would have just as much meaning.

**Author's Note:**

> this was originally going to be a whole fanfic of different snapshots, of which this wouldn't even have been the first, because i really wanted to experiment with non-linear storytelling... buuuuut i outlined it way before even s5 and it was also going to be a roadtrip-back-to-earth thing but with canon klance, and however much i still like the idea of this fic, canon blew so many holes in all these ideas that i don't think i'll have the energy to write everything i was going to.
> 
>    
> so, this might be short on its own, and not very conclusive (lance being bp and the friendship bracelet thing would definitely have been brought up again and been more significant), but it still counts as a finished oneshot in my book and i didn't want to regret not posting it just because i'm never going to write the whole rest so... there it is.
> 
> edit: i decided that i didn't want to be a lurker anymore and i desperately need friends, so you can follow me on twitter [here](https://twitter.com/cheeseroyalty)!  
> i'm very sad that so many people are leaving the fandom/ have left/ won't be producing content anymore, so i plan to be more active there and post more about my fics and maybe some hcs/ ideas and stuff. if you also still enjoy klance and maybe wanna talk to me, i'd be happy if you checked it out :) i still have enough klance ideas in me to last for years.  
> (and also i need a real beta if someone is interested)


End file.
